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Event
A.K.A. Doc Pomus
Charlotte Jewish Film Festival Film sponsored by the Levine JCC
Doc Pomus' dramatic life is one of American music's great untold stories. Paralyzed with polio as a child, Jerome Felder reinvented himself as Doc Pomus and became one of the most brilliant songwriters of the early rock and roll era, writing "Save the Last Dance for Me," "This Magic Moment," "A Teenager in Love," "Viva Las Vegas," and dozens of other hits.
For most of his life Doc was confined to crutches or a wheelchair, but he lived more during his sixty-five years than others could experience in several lifetimes. A.K.A. Doc Pomus brings to life Doc's joyous, romantic, heartbreaking, and eventful journey. In his later years, Doc was a mentor to generations of younger songwriters, and a fierce advocate for downtrodden musicians. He wrote a thousand songs - including some of the most recorded songs in the history of popular music - but his most lasting gift may have been his uniquely generous spirit. "If the music industry had a heart," the record producer Jerry Wexler remembered, "it would be Doc Pomus."
Packed with incomparable music and rare archival imagery, A.K.A. Doc Pomus features interviews with Doc's collaborators and friends, including Dr. John, Ben E. King, Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin, Dion, and B.B. King. Passages from his private journals are read by his close friend, Lou Reed. Doc Pomus' gripping life story makes for a powerful and lively film that introduces this unique American character to a new, much wider circle of admirers.
Directed by Peter Miller (Jews and Baseball) and Will Hechter
Documentary Feature/USA/English/97 minutes/2012
"A beautiful, crushing, meditation."
- San Francisco Bay Guardian
"There is nothing remotely ordinary about this film. It can't be compared to any other music biopic or documentary. There is just too much flair. The directors have a visual imagination that makes the cutting together of historical footage, album covers, movie posters, vintage interviews with the main subject, and a voiceover of someone reading his journals (Lou Reed, as it turns out), talking heads of people now looking back, still photos, and home movies seem like a revelation instead of a formula"
- Greil Marcus, The Believer
"The Toronto Jewish Film Festival is saving its best for last with A.K.A. Doc Pomus. Extremely moving and entertaining."
- Canadian Jewish News
"Casts a spell. You'll never be able to hear 'Save the Last Dance for Me' again without remembering a man who could never negotiate the dance floor."
- Bay Area Reporter
"Buoyant and heart-rending. Seek this one out."
- Film Comment
"Last night we had the US premiere of one of the strongest documentaries we have shown in 17 years - if not the strongest. Over 975 people cheered and gave a long standing ovation. This documentary had everything and absolutely blew people away." - Alan Inkes, Director, Stony Brook Film Festival
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LocationSam Lerner Center, Shalom Park (View)
5007 Providence Road
Charlotte, NC 28226
United States
Categories
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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